Light Dragoons welcome home parade: Message from chairman of Swanton Morley Parish Council

The Light Dragoons are based in the mid-Norfolk village of Swanton Morley, near Dereham. Roger Atterwill, chairman of the parish council, wrote the following message.

On behalf of the village of Swanton Morley, the parish council would like to convey its best wishes and heartfelt thanks to all our brave service personnel who have just returned from active service in Afghanistan.

The Light Dragoons are such a big part of our village life, supporting our school, events, services and businesses.

We would like to reiterate our commitment to you and your families, and the village is ready to assist you in any way that we can.

The whole village mourned when we heard the tragic news of the death of Sgt Lee Davidson. He and his family are very much in our thoughts.

There is a great excitement in the village knowing that there will be an opportunity to see you march through Dereham on December 5.

We very much look forward to showing you just how proud of you we are and how much you are appreciated.

The job that you do takes tremendous courage and, whilst tinged with sadness that you did not all return safely, we are thankful that you are now home.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.